...so little time ... so much to say ...
So... we’ll try and do this concisely (??? Is this really Corina writing ???)
VISITORS...
· Chantelle is here from September to June to help with the kids’ floor and fill other gaps at El Jordan... Both Chantelle’s great-grandparents and grandparents supported this ministry over many years... and now she has the chance to be involved directly...
· Uncle Norman & Nancy, Friends Alejandro and Susie, Cousin Stephanie... came in October to cook 140 roasts for Christmas on the Streets, cook for rehab centers, kids’ homes, a wedding and more...
· Heidi’s mom and dad came for a couple weeks... we put them to work cooking for our Pastor’s breakfast and much more!
· Bob... a visit from our mission office... We are so thankful for the mission offices... that serve us... and make our lives much simpler by taking care of details!
· Medin... (and Joyce, her mom) came to bake THOUSANDS of cookies... so that El Jordan could give away special cookie plates to thank everyone locally who has supported and encouraged us during the year... (If you only lived a bit closer we would’ve given you a plate too!)
· A faithful supporter over many years, Henry Fehr, was in Bolivia on another mission’s trip but we were able to cross paths again after 11 years!
· Rachel gave us 3 weeks of her travels around the world to help us in the busiest time of the year – finishing up our classes... getting ready for Christmas on the Streets... She’s a great organizer... and we appreciated her!
· My mom and dad are here now... until after Christmas... they’ve helped in so many ways – including helping wrap 5,000 gifts for Christmas on the Streets, teaching formally and informally, and helping us with Keiden so we can get more things done for Christmas...
· Marco’s parents were supposed to come as well... but because of health their visit was postponed until possibly January...
ACTIVITIES AT EL JORDAN...
From September until the end of the year, we seem to never be able to catch our breath... as we jump from one thing to another...
· The 10 day international fair
· El Jordán’s 10 year anniversary!!!
· Graduation
· Our exposition – open house
· Pastor’s breakfast
· November – the month we dedicate to new students – although we didn’t have that many this year...
· Planning meetings etc for Christmas on the Streets
· A music recital/concert to help raise money for Christmas on the Streets (the entrance fee was a bag of candies for the gift bags)... plus we sold tacos, quesadillas and cappuccinos...
· Our closing program/Christmas for our own students
· A couple fairs to sell our students’ stuff...
· ...and during some of that time we had severe electrical problems on the 4 floors of El Jordán’s new building (4 years old)... Poor Heidi was without lights for about 6 weeks... and the poor electricians kept uncovering more problems... In the end, the only way to fix the problem was to completely redo everything – a job that took 7 weeks...
After Christmas we all take a break... to relax and recuperate... to start up a new year of classes at the end of January. You can be praying for volunteer teachers (one of our Bible Study teachers can’t help out this next year... and others have health issues)... and for child care workers (that are responsible, capable and dependable)...
THE DIFFICULT SIDE OF LIFE...
· We have a volunteer struggling with an addiction... We are thankful for the honesty shown in sharing this problem with us... but would like prayer for our volunteer... and for us and his church to have wisdom to know how best to help.
· Amanda, a 17 year old who grew up on the streets with her mom... had a preemie baby who was whisked off to an incubator... no one was there to accompany the young mom... to push her gurney up to the room... no clothes, blanket or formula for the baby... (Here in the regular hospitals, nothing happens if there isn’t someone present to buy the medicines and basic supplies...) Fortunately, a nurse called me... I grabbed some little clothes... and when I got there, poor Amanda was imagining the worst because she had been told earlier that there weren’t any incubators available and her baby wasn’t big enough to survive...
The baby WAS only in an incubator for about a week... Please pray for Amanda... she wants to be a good mom... and doesn’t want her baby to suffer everything that she did...
· Ruth, one of our students, went back to drugs... the cocaine paste - a harsher drug than she ever used before... She has 4 kids who suffer because of the terrible choices she is making...
· It came to light in these last couple weeks that a 12 year old daughter of one of our students, was being sexually abused by her uncle...
· Nelly’s 9 year old Gabriel ran away from home for 3 weeks... and was finally found in another city... He is at home again now but shows absolutely no remorse for what he did...
· Mery Laura hasn’t been able to come to class at El Jordan because she has been struggling with a rebellious son who escaped from a kids’ home, a mom who is extremely ill with a resistant strain of tuberculosis, a husband who drinks and doesn’t take responsibility at home... and her own health going down the drain... No one wanted to treat her for fear that she had the resistant strain of tuberculosis... she went down to skin and bones... and can barely pick up her own baby... let alone take care of her mom in the hospital... About a week ago she was told that her tuberculosis ISN’T resistant and was able to start treatment.
· Lidia’s little Benjamin – HIV positive – spent a couple weeks in the hospital... Lidia is pulled between caring for him at the hospital and knowing her other kids need her at home... God has sent her WONDERFUL doctors... who even sent home food for her kids... found medications for Benjamin... etc. Lidia wants a Christian family to adopt the baby she is expecting... Please pray for the baby’s health and adoptive parents...
· A girl came to me very upset... people had come to the streets to take blood tests... and she had HIV... Later when I asked to see the paper... it was negative for HIV!!! (although positive for something much less serious...) Pray that Marlene’s scare will encourage her to come back to El Jordan - and truly look for a new life... As HIV becomes more rampant on the streets (and everywhere) pray for wisdom to know how to prepare our volunteers to work as safely as possible, to work with those that have HIV... and also to prepare those who don’t have the virus as well... (there is still a lot of discrimination, misinformation and ignorance about HIV and AIDS).
· Mery’s ulcer on her leg isn’t healing because she is on her feet so much washing clothes, cleaning lots with a machete... Doctor’s orders: she needs to be off her feet for at least three months... Partnering with her church, we are providing her basic needs for three months while she stays at home working on Christmas cards and scrunchies... but with her leg UP...
· Several of the teenagers who have come to El Jordan – for prevention measures – have gotten pregnant... Some are in abusive relationships... others are just enamoured with the idea of having someone to love... Midyear we lost one of our teachers for our teenage girls’ class... and we really need someone to replace her...
· At our church, both our pastor and an elder’s wife passed away (leaving two small children) – within two weeks of each other... Our pastor’s son Daniel was one of my “heroes” from last Christmas – and it was his idea for his musical group (playing the blues) to do a concert to raise funds/awareness for Christmas on the Streets... Please pray for these families... especially at Christmas which is such a “family” time... Marco has helped out with some of the teaching at church...
Does this all sound very disheartening? Well... it depends how you look at it... although there are many sad things, they are also opportunities to serve... to share Christ’s truths with people who so need it... to walk along side of people who need encouragement and maybe a point in the right direction... God has given each one of us gifts... to help others... (Ephesians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 12:7) There are plenty of opportunities for that!
ON A PERSONAL NOTE...
· God reminded us of His faithfulness, care and mercy... by providing for us through an unexpected gift in an exact moment of need...
· Keiden has had:
- chicken pox (that ended up not being chicken pox – rather some skin problem that still hasn’t completely cleared up...)
- parasites
- a concussion
- a virus that was going around (high fevers, cough)
- a tattoo (some of his medicine spilled down his front... and left a stain down his belly that does NOT come off...)
· Our “Pilgrim’s Refuge” has been such a blessing... for our own “refuge”... for spending a day with all of our volunteers (Eulogio and Marco gave one of their pigs to be cooked up special for that day)... an outing for our adolescents (our little pond has basically dried up... but the kids still LOVED swimming)... and we’ve even had our first wedding out there... (Santiago and Ana – our caretakers at the property have been learning more about God and the Bible – and they decided they wanted to get married...)
Another facet of the property is the chicken coop... Marco raised most of the 500 chickens we need for Christmas on the Streets...and we’ve been able to save some money this way.... We’ll only need to buy about 50 or 60 at full price from the market... On Monday and Tuesday, Marco along with another volunteer and several students from El Jordan will be doing the dirty work to get the chickens ready for us to use... Please pray that it isn’t too hot on those days!
A NEW SHIRT!!!
Do you remember that we were feeling as if the “shirt” was too tight at El Jordan? That we needed to have more space for the boys/mens ministry – to develop workshops for them... We found (and bought!!!) a 1500+ square metre property about 10 minutes drive from El Jordan... We bought it for half the price that a regular city lot costs near El Jordan! That means we have some money left over to finish the wall around it... and start developing the first workshop and caretaker’s apartment...
Due to a shortage of cement in Bolivia (people have to sleep in line all night to get 4 bags of cement at about 10 the next morning!!!) and our busy schedule until the end of the year, we’ll start the wall in January... It is a good location (I would have preferred closer... but for workshops, “bigger” was more necessary than closer!) So that is our very exciting news... which comes along with several prayer requests...
· Wisdom for Marco as he heads this project up
· That God would send the right people along to form part of the “team”
· God’s continued provision
· That God even now would be preparing the hearts of the boys and men that should come
None of this would have been possible without you... people who have prayed and given... Some have given specific gifts towards this new project... while others have given to the ministry in general (where any extra, we have been saving up for this)... THANK YOU SO MUCH... In the new year we will be sharing more news of how it is developing... meanwhile... please continue to pray...
Well... Its been lots of info for one letter... sorry about that... but I wanted to get caught up... I’ll write again after Christmas and let you know how things went for Christmas on the Streets... One of the things I love about this time of year is just seeing so many people coming together to serve... its amazing what can be done... functioning as a body...
May God bless you... and may you find (or not lose) JOY as you celebrate this Christmas... We have received the best Gift of all!
Lots of love, from Corina... for Marco and Keiden...
P.S.
There was something I forgot in my last letter... There were several of you who helped with Juan... the one who was in jail... and who’s wife Lorena died leaving him with two little girls... Well... bail was paid probably about two months ago so Juan could get out and most importantly – take his girls to live in a safer, better environment... Well... If you weren’t here, you really can’t imagine nor believe all the things that happened to delay his freedom... Paperwork was slow... we tried to “hurry up” the public defence lawyer with one and then yet another person to run errands, pick up papers, go to the Peruvian consulate, to immigration offices etc etc etc... Papers were lost... the name was wrong... the office number of the court house was wrong on one of the papers... the number was wrong on a certificate... and just about anything else that could have gone wrong did.. Personally we have been through a similar situation where freedom is promised... seems really close... yet... ends up being so far away... The good news is that Juan is free... as of about 10 days ago... He is living at Lorena’s dad’s place... not the greatest environment for the girls either – with an alcoholic grandfather... and uncle and aunts and cousins on still on the streets... but at least he now has the possibility of working... and moving towards a more stable life... Please pray for him... especially that he might desire to get to know Christ... and how to live in an entirely different way... Thanks on behalf of Juan... little Corina and Serena... to those who helped him get his freedom... This is just about the best Christmas gift that he could have received... THANKS!
I also asked for you to pray that it wouldn’t be too hot these days when they are slaughtering the chickens and bringing them into town for us to cut into 10 pieces each... spice... and freeze (to be cooked all night on the 23rd / 24th and served that afternoon)... Well... it cooled off last night... was overcast... and we couldn’t have asked for better weather... They (Marco, 3 volunteers from El Jordan and two of our students) brought in 196 beautiful chickens... and have gone back out to the property tonight... to keep working... and bring in about 280 more tomorrow morning... I was so proud of Marco... for his first attempt at chicken raising, he did a really good job... We had a great group of ladies to help chop up the chickens... and all in all, we had a great day... Today I got a bit teary eyed at a couple donations we received... The pastor of the church where a lot of our families are attending dropped by with an offering they had taken up for Christmas on the Streets... They collected 1744.50 bs... This church has just been going for a couple years... and it is made up mostly of people who have been on the streets and their families... I know it was collected with sacrifice... and they far out gave many other “more established” local churches... and it really touched my heart...
Then three teenagers came with their Sunday School teacher... who had picked up a brochure at a sale we went to on Saturday... They brought a box of homemade chocolates... a little bag of candies... and 1000 disposable cups...Again.... knowing that their gift didn’t come easily made it that much more special... ...and that is how Christmas on the Streets happens... little by little... people working... cleaning... giving... organizing... and it comes together... It never ceases to amaze me...
Today I received some sad news... I got a phone call from the state hospital... “Do you know the Señora Esperanza? Do you know any family members and how to contact them? She died this morning...” I mentioned her in my last letter... she was sick with resistant tuberculosis... and Mery Laura – her only child and our student - also has been extremely sick with TB and having a hard time getting treatment because of her mom’s situation... Well... I had to pass on the news... Mery Laura, for the first time in at least a month (maybe two), had enough strength to tend to her mom’s little candy stand plus her own combs, shampoos etc on the sidewalk of a downtown market... Her plan was to sell in the morning so she didn’t have to visit her mom empty handed in the afternoon... Instead of visiting her mom, she spent the afternoon figuring out all the arrangements... how to pay the bill at the hospital and the burial arrangements (In Bolivia, the burial has to take place within 24 hours...) The hospital bill came to 10,700 Bs. – an impossible amount... but with a letter from El Jordan they were supposed to lower that amount to 2,000 Bs. Other “candy sellers” got together 1,000 Bs. and Mery Laura was hoping that would be enough to get her mom out of the hospital... A family from our church had given us $100 US to help a needy family this Christmas... I had been thinking who we could help... but couldn’t decide on anyone... but today changed that and we decided that this was where that money should go... Tears rolled down her cheeks as she held the envelope... “I don’t have anybody anymore... but God hasn’t forgotten me...” No Mery Laura... God doesn’t forget us... even in our darkest moments... He still is there...
When I visited Doña Esperanza just last week... she knew she was dying... Her name means hope... and we talked about the hope that we can have when we believe in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross – His gift to pay the debt of our sin... and when we accept that truth – dying no longer has to be something that we fear... rather we can wait for expectantly... the door to a new life with NO pain... medicine... sickness... or tears... I believe that she truly had that Hope... and that although here on earth she didn’t have a square foot land to call her own, there was a mansion already prepared for her...
Anyhow... I wanted to add these updates to my last letter... also so you can be praying for Mery Laura and her 3 kids – Jhon, Viviana and Jairo...
Thanks so much... we appreciate YOU...
God bless... and have a wonderful day... lots of love, from Corina... for Marco and Keiden too...